Hot 2015 Volkswagen Golf R is just a bit out of focus

Fuel economy: 23 miles per gallon city, 30 highway

Weight: About 3,400 pounds

Engine: Turbocharged, direct-injected 2-liter four-cylinder with 292 horsepower and 280 pound-feet of torque

Transmission: Six-speed, dual-clutch automatic

Performance: 0 to 60 mph in 4.5 seconds

Sources: Volkswagen Group of America; Car and Driver

The limited-production 2015 Volkswagen Golf R enjoys high standing as one of Europe’s better hot hatches.

Considered a step up from the vaunted Volkswagen GTI, the R can rip through the Alps in the morning and make a sausage-and-beer run in the afternoon — all while averaging 25 miles per gallon.

The R crackles with interesting changes this year, appropriating the same 2-liter turbo four and all-wheel-drive powertrain that propel the superb Audi S3.

You’ll need to look hard for clues of that move, though.

From 10 feet, the glossy silver R sedan I had recently appeared to be just another stylishly square, two-box VW Golf, a practical front-driver for Unitarians.

Get closer, however, and you may notice four small “R” badges on various panels of the car, as well as large 19-inch alloy wheels wearing fairly meaty 235/35 tires.

In back, dual twin-tipped exhausts poke from beneath the bumper, suggesting that this might be something more than a tepid mid-level Golf.

If you like square lines and subtlety, you’ll appreciate the unassuming R.

Low and clean

Low and clean, the R had a sleek blacked-out grille flanked by fairly conventional wrap-around headlamps.

A prominent character line beneath its door handles cut crisply though mostly flat sides, and the R’s big wheels and low-profile tires fully occupy the car’s corners.

Unlike me, it seemed more serious and purposeful up close.

Just pop the hood, for example. Volkswagen-Audi’s ubiquitous 2-liter four, which seems available in just about every model of their vehicles, is tweaked and turbocharged in the R version to 292 horsepower.

It twists a dual-clutch six-speed automatic with considerable authority, putting its power to the pavement through all four wheels.

The Haldex all-wheel-drive system and other upscale options add minimal weight, pushing the R to a little over 3,400 pounds, about 100 more than the front-wheel-drive GTI.

That likely plays a role in the R’s acceptable economy: 23 miles per gallon in town and 30 on the highway.

The turbo-squeezed four spins out 280 pound-feet of torque at an impressively low 1,800 rpm.

The R leaps away from stops and efficiently rips its way to 60 mph in 4.5 very fleet seconds, according to Car and Driver.

It felt quick, too, surging a little at around 3,000 rpm and emitting a small exhaust “woof” with each paddle shift of the transmission.

But when I added everything up, the R just felt slightly less intense and focused than its little brother, the GTI, and it costs $40,000, about $6,000 more than a GTI with a few options.

Hmmm. Did the R catch some residual dust from VW’s bad juju?

Good grip

Likewise, the R is equipped with a fairly sophisticated “adaptive sport suspension” that provided flat, balanced cornering with good grip from the all-wheel-drive system.

While a bit numb, the steering felt nicely weighted, precise and extremely quick.

Consequently, I could sail hard into tight curves and stay on the accelerator, moving the unflappable R around between curbs as it drifted lightly.

But the R just didn’t seem to turn in with the razor-sharp aggression or corner with the unabashed joy of the supposedly lesser GTI.

As you might expect in a high-performance sedan, the R rolled firmly over smooth pavement, getting kind of rowdy on the weather-beaten stuff.

Most of the time, the R’s black interior seemed high-end hot hatch.

A flat-topped dashboard curved stylishly over the instrument panel, for instance, while a broad center stack trimmed in piano black looked proportional with its 5.8-inch display screen.

Even better, simple buttons and knobs below the screen controlled the car’s climate system.

Meanwhile, VW provided a little flash with the function, trimming the dash and door panels in a carbon fiber-like material.

The seats and flat-bottom steering wheel fit especially well. Black seats stitched in decent leather offered comfortable support, and the legroom and headroom in back were reasonable.

But would I buy an R? Maybe. It delivers performance similar to the wild-child Subaru WRX STI and is easier to live with.

The problem, as I see it, is that the R doesn’t feel $6,000 better than the excellent GTI.

Give us a bit more edge and excitement, though, and the R could dominate the hot-hatch segment.